Brussels, 06/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission on Tuesday signed a co-operation agreement with the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR), aiming to strengthen co-operation in the field of inland navigation. The objective is to promote unification of this market, and to ensure full co-ordination between the Rhine and Community legal systems which would apply to other navigable inland waterways in the EU. To this end, the agreement provides for: 1) a procedure for information exchange between the two organisations; 2) representatives from one organisation being able to take part in meetings on inland navigation held by the other; 3) co-ordination meetings between their representatives held at least twice-yearly. Once the agreement was signed, an initial meeting took place between François Lamoureux, Director General of Commission Directorate General Energy and Transport, and Jean-Marie Woehrling, Secretary General of CCNR, during which they discussed the impact of the enlargement of the EU on the inland navigation market, the recognition of Community certification on the Rhine, and the Commission's plans to propose Community membership the Rhine organisation, which would lead to a de facto harmonisation between the two organisations.
Founded in 1868, the CCNR is an inter-governmental organisation (Germany, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Switzerland), whose work consists mainly of ensuring free navigation on the Rhine.